The Register’s season-opening O.C. boys volleyball top 10.
O.C. TOP 10
1. Huntington Beach: The Oilers ride the wave of three consecutive CIF-SS and SoCal Regional titles into the season. There’s also the matter of their match win streak – 104 in a row. The Oilers will try to extend that as far as they can.
2. Corona del Mar: The Sea Kings have a solid core of players returning, but will also look for some newcomers to develop at the varsity level. CdM traditionally plays its best toward the end of the season and heading into the CIF-SS playoffs.
3. San Clemente: The Tritons graduated several key players from last season’s team that advanced to the CIF-SS quarterfinals. A new core of seniors, including Aaron Strange and Paul Castellana, are ready to step forward and lead the team through the South Coast League.
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Boys volleyball preview
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4. Santa Margarita: The Eagles return a good nucleus (five seniors) from last year’s team that finished one game away from winning the Trinity League title. Led by senior outside hitter James Thomas, the Eagles figure to be in the hunt again for the league title.
5. Mater Dei: The Monarchs made one of the biggest jumps last season, going from the bottom of the Trinity League to a share of the league title. It was done with a young group, led by setter Garrett Zolg. Zolg, now a junior, leads a versatile group that should make some noise again this season.
6. Servite: You can always count on the Friars to start the season playing a tough nonleague schedule, which gets them ready for the battles in the Trinity League. This year’s group is led by the senior trio of Grant Mooney, Matthew Johnson and Garrett Halsey. Look for them to be in contention again for the league title.
7. Beckman: Coach Darin McBain is excited about the potential of this year’s group. A solid defense is always a given with Beckman’s team, but the offensive weapons, led by juniors Spencer Olivier and Brayden Wiley, will make the team more dangerous this season.
8. Laguna Beach: Coach Darren Utterback said he has a young team, but it has experience. The Breakers have won consecutive SoCal Regional titles and return seniors Tyler Aller (Ohio State) and setter Isaac Wulff. The key for the Breakers will be finding an on-court leader. They should be in contention for the CIF-SS Division 2 title.
9. Newport Harbor: The Sailors went through growing pains last season with a roster that consisted of mostly freshmen and sophomores. Another year of experience has them setting the stage for big things and makes the Sailors a team to keep an eye on entering the season.
10. Dana Hills: The Dolphins went undefeated on the way to winning the South Coast League title last season. They graduated nine seniors, but have a good returning piece back in Grady Yould. Yould was an All-County second-team outside hitter last season. Ball control is always a key for the Dolphins. They’re another team that will likely be better at the end of the season.
Also considered: Foothill; Edison; Saddleback Valley Christian; Tesoro; Capistrano Valley
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
